8599/Freaky Friday

Freaky Friday
Date of Scene:	08 November 2021
Location:	Jubilee and Noriko's Room
Synopsis:	Jubilee and Noriko dressed as each other for the Xavier's Halloween Party and got an intense lesson on what it's like to be the other. They retreat back to the dorms and discuss.
Cast of Characters:	Noriko Ashida, Jubilation Lee

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Noriko Ashida has posed:
Stepping back into 404 is like finally getting to breathe.  Halloween was one of Noriko's favorite American holidays and the stifling nature of her experience as Jubilation for the night, stuck on Roxxi's arm as she was spirited away was a breaking point for the mutant.  A quick retreat was beat after hitting up the kitchens on the way back.  The stop is almost entirely automatic.  Noriko only grabbed essentials, in no mood to dally, so it is almost as if they never have to stop at all.

The speedster is back at Jubilation's side after a beat.  She must have hurried.  She must need fuel, but that's not unheard of on these festivity nights where everyone expects the kids to eat nothing but candy, a part of necessary routine that is old hat by now to Jubes surely.

When Nori steps foot into the room she immediately leans back against the wall next to the door, taking a moment, still processing the sliver of a night she's had trying to /be/ Jubilation.  She takes a deep breath.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    The school doesn't carry her foodstuff but that's okay. Jubilation comes along for the ride and is happy enough to do it, especially knowing that the destination is room 404. The /real/ 404. Not the one at the Curio in NYC and certainly not the apartment on the other side of campus that's totally not-at-all a prison.

    And so, when the pair come through the door, Jubilee finds her own place, leaned with her back against the door after she closes it behind them. She's not taking a deep breath (or any breath) but she looks just as worn down by the whole thing. She stands there, staring forward for what feels like an eternity until she breaks the silence.

    "Fuck," she says simply before peeling the grey mittens from her hands. "Nori... I..." Jubilee doesn't know what to say. Pretending to be Noriko Ashida, even just for the evening, cultivated such feelings of isolation in the vampiress.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko still hasn't figured out Jubilation's food cycle yet and has instead opted for paying attention more than figuring things out.  Her eating habits have changed drastically since Jubes became a vampire, the facade of slowing down to allow talk has completely stripped away unless there is a true interruption.  It's obviously meant to give them more time together and Jubes less time staring at Nori scarfing down food.

But Nori hasn't touched the food.

Nori looks sidelong to Jubilation, then reaches for Jubilation's hand with her gauntlet.  "I didn't mean to leave you like that. I-"  How can she possibly articulate it, the girl doesn't know.  To be spirited away by people's expectations.  Expectations to be what they want you to be.  "I don't know what to say," the girl admits.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Me neither..." Jubilee replies quietly, squeezing the speedster's gauntlet even though she might not be able to feel it. "...I..." Her eyes lower as her mind lingers on the way she felt standing there, alone, watching as everyone else had fun without her. It lingers on how she took it out on that scare actor dressed as a witch.

    "Nori..." Jubilee tries again, looking up at the speedster again. "I..." It's not Jubilation's fault that Noriko has found her place outside of the spotlight of people's expectations, but it didn't stop her from finally understanding what that's like. She looks down again.

    "I'm sorry," are the words that come. What could Jubilee say? What should she say? While Jubilee has been off galavanting with the Night Brigade, where was Nori? What was she doing? Was she standing off to the side, free of the spotlight? Is being free of the spotlight the same as it never finding her?

    "I want to spend more time together," Jubilee blurts out, turning to face Noriko again.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
There's something shameful about Noriko's isolation, somewhat self-imposed but complicated.  "I put too much pressure on you," the speedster admits after having mulled it over a hundred times already.  She doesn't want to say it, she's not that evolved.  She needs more friends.

"I'm sorr-"  Noriko starts to say to Jubilation.  "You do?-I want to too."  Of course Nori does, but there's something softer and less anguished about it now.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Yeah, of course I do..." Jubilee answers with a smile, leaning her cheek against the back of the door as she looks at the other girl with fondness. "But... I wish you told me..." She looks down again, almost appearing to pout at the idea. That feeling of being left out, the isolation, came on by coincidence at the Halloween party, but it stuck with Jubilee. How long has Nori been feeling like that, she wonders?

    "I wish you told me," she repeats softly, looking up at Noriko again. She's not talking about Nori not telling her about wanting to spend more time together. Jubilation's demeanor, the outward one that responds to the world, was always different from Noriko's but she never understood the toll it could take on the speedster. Jubilee wishes Nori had said something about /that/

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko briefly wonders why she acted surprised at all when she sees that look from Jubilation, but that moment of reflection lapses quickly when she sees Jubilation look down, the way she holds herself.  Noriko can feel all of those familiar feelings creeping back up onto her shoulders.

"I don't know how to talk about it," Noriko admits.  How does she talk about how she's felt her entire life?  How sometimes Xaviers just feels like her room inside a bigger room.  Her old room.  How it feels like she's still back there somehow.  Now more than ever as Nori has clung to what little time she can eke out with Jubes.  "I don't want you to not be you."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "It's okay..." Jubilee replies to that admission. They both have things they don't talk about. She gets it. "You don't have to if you don't want." Jubilation turns and tilts her head so her cheek now rests on Noriko's shoulder.

    "I want to make it easier for you to /be/ you," Jubilation replies softly. She might not be the smartest girl at school, but Jubilee would have to be a true idiot to not recognize the ways Noriko has to bend to the will of the world just to exist in it.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I didn't feel that way until recently," Noriko tries to explain, obviously meaning /because of Jubilation/.  It is no secret that the speedster has been plagued by isolation since the day she stepped foot just outside the grounds, before.  It follows her like a beaten dog.

"Well you can't let everyone know or I'll lose my cred," Noriko warns without any bite behind her words, just tenderness as their conversation quiets.  It makes little sense, like the words come out of some scrambled pre-canned air of hers, but the facade is thin.  A part of the girl is obviously clinging to the exterior she's put up for others.  This isn't to lie to Jubilation, it isn't a front for her.  It's so dreadfully obvious, so steeped in vulnerability, that these attitudes are just armor, a crutch for the speedster herself.  A way for her to not feel like a burden.  "I feel the same way," she says softly.

"I just don't want to be apart..."  That detail that had ground them both down, the idea that Jubes be isolated from others...  Be made out to be dangerous, which she is, but Noriko has only always seen Jubilation, not just the monster, not just the predator.  It's a bond not easily broken by silly things like DEATH.  Nori leans her own cheek against the top of Jubes' head.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "I don't want to be apart, either," Jubilee replies easily. Her cheek is still leaned against the speedster's shoulder, but she pulls the magical amulet from underneath her shirt and gently holds it between her thumb and fingers.

    "What if..." She blinks her eyes a couple of times as the words slip through her mind. Jubilee shakes her head. "Never mind."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Falling silent, Noriko just tries to think about now, the weight of Jubilation against her shoulder, the soft scents she picks up.  Her eyes flutter downward at Jubes' movement, but she can't see the amulet, only infer from this angle, but her attention isn't on it.

"What if what?"  Of course the speedster has to ask.  The words are gentle, quiet for their quiet conversation, but no less impulsive.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation's cheek shakes against Noriko's shoulder. "Nothing," she replies. She gets quiet again as the idea keeps bouncing around in her head. "But..." Jubilation's eyes dart upward, as though doing so might allow her better access to her thoughts.

    "How long does it take you to get to the Curio?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"With a passenger or by myself?  I mean I haven't timed it.  Probably like five minutes or faster?" The speedster kind of just continues on over her own questions for clarification, offering what information she can estimate on the spot.  "I mean without having to slow down for a passenger though."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Five minutes. That's not so bad, Jubilee thinks. That's nothing, actually. That's like living in the 'closer dorm' on a college campus. "Five minutes," she repeats before falling quiet again. The idea pings and pongs some more.

    "What if I lived there instead? It's further but...it's private," Jubes suggests.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"If you feel more comfortable there, but how do I know if you are home?"  Noriko's demeanor doesn't seem defeatist, but more like her thoughts are just unfolding out loud since Noriko isn't out to solve everything alone like an island, which she often does.  The speedster doesn't readily alert Jubes to the fact that she swings by the apartment dorm regularly like someone who would rather get up and look for someone at their desk than check some electronic status.  Some say this is stalking, but what do they know.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation frowns. It is a good point. She hadn't considered that. "Oh, oh yeah," she mutters. How would Nori know she was there? Back to the drawing board.

    "The Curio is safer, though... We put magic into it," Jubilation explains. She casually drops in that 'we' as though she had anything to do with the magical wards that protect that building. In truth, a drop of her blood went into it.

    This time last year, Jubilee would've been worried about what color her dress for the Fall Formal should be. Now she's worried about someone driving a stake into her chest while she slumbers.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I assumed it was," Noriko says, "though I didn't think about magic.  I'd rather you be safe," than close but there are parts of the speedster that rebel and grind at saying the words.  She wants safety and closeness.  She sighs softly.  "Well why don't we just figure out the knowing when you're here thing.  I don't like that we can't contact each other anyways."  And since there are things in their lives that diverge them now.

"I guess I could work on that."  The Fall Formal.  Oi.  So far from the speedster's mind.  "I mean the simple case shouldn't be so difficult."  She shrugs.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation's hand comes up and gently cups one of the speedster's cheeks. "We'll figure something out," she promises. "Something."

    "C'mon, let's get you some snacks and get me some clothes," Jubes suggests with a grin. She's still in her Nori costume and it's WEIRD.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Yeah."  Noriko doesn't move immediately, happy to linger in the closeness to Jubilation.  "I think some of your laundry got mixed in mine.  Check the basket,"  Noriko suggests.  "I was going to go through it," but obviously she's had things on her mind and plate.

In a little blur, Noriko is quickly mostly back to herself, save for remnants of makeup.  She only changes out of her Jubes getup and into something more comfortable.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee's hair blows around a little as Noriko zips into a new outfit. It's not much of a blow, as she cut off almost three quarters of her hair for this costume, but it'll be back by tomorrow night. She grins a little and shakes her head at the speedster on her way to the laundry basket.

    Jubilee drops to her knees and begins fishing through the laundry with both arms. After a few moments, Jubes stands up, empty-handed. "I'll go get changed and then be back," she explains. Nori gets a quick peck on her cheek before Jubilation slips out into the hall.